Port Hardy Hospital emergency department closed due to 'limited staffing availability'

Port Hardy Hospital is seen in this photo from the Island Health website. (islandhealth.ca)

For the second day in a row, a hospital emergency room on northern Vancouver Island is closed due to a lack of staff.

On Saturday, Port McNeill Hospital's emergency department was closed from 3 p.m. until 7 a.m. the following day. On Sunday, it was Port Hardy Hospital's turn. 

Island Health said in a statement that "limited staffing availability" meant Port Hardy Hospital's emergency department would be closed from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

"Island Health acknowledges this is not an ideal situation for the community and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience experienced by this temporary service reduction," the health authority said in the statement.

Anyone experiencing a medical emergency was urged to call 911 or, if possible, proceed to Port McNeill Hospital.

Other inpatient services at Port Hardy Hospital remained available Sunday.

"Island Health and BC Emergency Health Services have protocols in place to ensure patients are transported to the appropriate site," the health authority said.

The facilities in Port McNeill and Port Hardy are far from the only ones that have been affected by staff shortages in B.C. in recent weeks.

The twin crises of the COVID-19 pandemic and record-breaking numbers of toxic drug overdoses have put increasing strain on the province's health-care system.

Earlier this year, a poll from the Hospital Employees Union suggested one in three B.C. health-care workers are likely to leave the profession in the next two years due to stress and burnout. 

While the provincial Ministry of Health has touted its efforts to recruit, hire and retain more physicians and improve access to care in B.C., Premier John Horgan and other provincial leaders have also called for more funding for health care from the federal government.